sonria.org » Atlanta

Writer’s Block: Local Favorite

Catherine — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:45:46 +0000

Writer’s Block for April 28, 2012:

You’re having guests for the weekend — what one local restaurant is at the top of the list for your visitors, and what dishes will you be recommending? (Links to the restaurant’s website always welcome, in case readers are ever in your area!)

I’m going to assume that money is no object, and recommend The Sun Dial Restaurant, Bar and View in Midtown Atlanta. It’s unusual for a restaurant to have a reference to the view in its name, but this one has a very good reason: it’s a rotating restaurant situated on the the top level of the Westin Peachtree Plaza, which is among the tallest buildings in Atlanta (at one point it was the tallest).

But if I were strictly recommending the view, I’d talk about the observation level in the same building which is also open to the public (and a lot cheaper to visit). I fell in love with this restaurant when, as a treat, I decided to go there for Sunday brunch with my mother one time while she was visiting.

The servers seated us at an outside table and, since it was a relatively quiet Sunday afternoon, were friendly and attentive. They even helped us identify some of the buildings as we rotated past them, and told us tidbits of local history. They also listened to our food preferences and made recommendations that both fit our desires and let us sample some local flavor (their menu is seasonal; I doubt the dishes we had are still served).

My mother recalls that brunch as a highlight of her visit, and it certainly was one of my favorite experiences. The food was well-made and the ambience wonderful, and the view simply cannot be beat.

The Sun Dial isn’t cheap — our tab for that brunch was about $60 for the two of us, and Sunday brunch is the least expensive meal they offer. But the food was top-notch and the service and location made it worth the money. Still, it’s certainly not a place I would suggest for a budget traveler, and I’ve only been back twice myself. But that doesn’t mean I would hesitate to recommend it if the situation were right.

Letter to the Georgia Commissioner of Revenue

Catherine — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:45:34 +0000

I sent this via email, but I’m also posting it here as an open letter.

Dear Commissioner MacGinnitie:

I just had the pleasure of viewing the voting page for the new Georgia license plates and want to thank you for the preliminary selection of plates that are ALL much better than our current completely-unstylish plate. You’ve done a great job!

But there’s a not so great problem with some of the templates. There are firm indications that the county stickers are on their way out on the plates, which isn’t a problem since the renewal stickers have the county noted on them. But the words “In God We Trust” most emphatically DO NOT belong in their place. The last time I checked, no religious test was required to be a citizen of either Georgia or the United States and I believe the Constitution specifically and explicitly states that one is not required for public office.

Although #5 was my favorite, I voted for #4 because I will NOT place a license plate with this phrase upon my vehicle. I should mention that I am a faithful Christian; I’m just not so insecure in my faith as to believe it’s okay to force it upon others.

Please either retain the county stickers or remove this phrase from the final license plate blank. While I have no objection to the OPTION of displaying it on a license plate, forcing people to do so is a total contradiction of this country’s founding values.

Hat tip to the folks in the Atlanta LiveJournal Community for spreading the word (although the post itself is protected). Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll note that I got my license plate in 2006 — it’s on the 2003-2007 “gradient” template — so it’s unlikely I’d personally be forced to change plates anytime soon.

Writer’s Block: Time to move on

Catherine — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:45:38 +0000

Writer’s Block for June 13, 2011:

If you had to relocate to another city, what would you miss most about the place you’re leaving behind[?]

I wouldn’t miss Atlanta for Atlanta. It really hasn’t made all that unique of an impression on me. But I would miss some of the things I have in Atlanta, not all of which are tangible. Depending on where I was going, I might also miss a few things that aren’t specific to Atlanta but are specific to the geographic location.

This question hits a little close as I write this, because my “fall back position” if I run out of money during unemployment involves moving back to Raleigh. I don’t want to do that. The reason I’m trying not to do it is because I like the life I have here in Atlanta. Oh, it could be better — and I’m working to make it that way — but my house is here (and I’m loving home ownership) and my immediate educational plans involve schools in the metro.

It would also be something of a personal defeat. This is the first time I’ve really been completely on my own. People tell me I’ve already proven I can make it because I will get to the five-year mark in a couple of weeks, but time doesn’t always equal success.

So I’d miss living in Atlanta. But not really because of anything specific to Atlanta, beyond the fact that I’ve specific plans involving local locations. (There are schools in Raleigh, and in many other cities, where I could accomplish the same educational goals. There are also homes to buy practically everywhere.) I’d miss it because of what it’s meant.

Depending on where I went, I might also miss things that are actually more about the South, such as the climate and the local traditions. I’ve lived in the South almost all of my life, and there would be culture shock if I moved to a different geographic region. While I enjoy diversity and new experience, I do like having familiarity to fall back on when things get confusing.

(This being said, I’ve wondered if a couple of years in some place like California might do me some good. But that’s beside the point of this post, and I likely wouldn’t stay there permanently.)

Although I’ve been in Atlanta for a while and, if I get my wish, will be for a while longer, I don’t plan to live here for the rest of my life. Eventually there will come a time to move on, and while I don’t yet know where I’ll go, I’m pretty sure I already know how I’ll view my time spent here: as a good part of my life, but one I won’t really miss.

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Feet

Catherine — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:15:52 +0000

Keyboard Player Caught Barefoot — Skin Alley Band, Peachtree Corners Festival

I dropped by the first Peachtree Corners Festival this past Saturday to see what I could see and keep the camera warm. And “warm” is the right description: like many other parts of the country, we here in the Atlanta area have been experiencing a heat wave. I was far from the only person wearing shorts.

But since it was a street festival — which, in this case, quite literally meant that it was on asphalt streets — I was also far from the only person who had my shoes on. Anyone who’s ever walked barefoot on asphalt can imagine why.

It seems, though, that the flooring on the stage didn’t have the same problem. I was jealous. Running outside barefoot is a part of summer, but due to living in apartments and condominiums I haven’t had a chance to indulge it for more than a minute or two in several years.

I wasn’t so jealous that I couldn’t stop and enjoy the music, however, and in the process I’ve discovered a new local band to follow. I later found out that the festival itself has been deemed a success. I can’t wait for the next time — for either it or the band!

Photo: Caught Barefoot, uploaded by airnos

Day 217 and a New List

Catherine — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 01:54:25 +0000

Previous Update: http://sonria.org/blog/2010/day-203-december-4-2010

Today is Day 217, but this is going to be a different kind of post.

Item #73 is explore thirty new places in my local area. That’s a nice, solid idea and certainly falls into the definition of “quantifiable.” But I’ve realized that it’s not quite specific enough. Thirty new places? Great! But what are they?

I’d completely drawn a blank and at first decided to attack this by simply going someplace that sounded interesting at the time. It’s not working; I haven’t gone anywhere new in the Atlanta metro, even though I’ve gone to a lot of new places outside of it.

Instead, it’s time to make a list. Thirty places in the next 784 days (the time I have left) works out to a new place about every 26 days. I figure that if I manage one place per month, with a couple months where I do two, I should be able to finish this item.

Zoo Atlanta
Cyclorama
Paris on Ponce
Fox Theatre — I’ve seen two shows here but I’ve never really looked around the theater itself
High Museum
The Tabernacle
Dialog in the Dark
Waffle House Museum
Junkman’s Daughter
Mary Mac’s Tea Room
Scott Antique Market
Kenny’s Alley — I’ve been to Underground Atlanta, but only during the day
Margaret Mitchell House & Museum
Six Flags
Millennium Gate
Centennial Olympic Park, as I’ve never gone past the edge
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area — at least five sites
Georgia Aquarium
Atlanta History Center
Center for Puppetry Arts
Cabbagetown
Jewish Heritage Museum
Castleberry Hill Art Stroll
Fernbank Museum
CNN Center
Georgia State Capitol
West End
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Site
Jimmy Carter Library
Historic Roswell

There are a number of other Atlanta places that I can’t put on this list because they’re not “new” (i.e., I’ve been there before). But I want to go back to these places:

Atlanta Botanical Gardens
Piedmont Park
Chastain Ampitheater (when it’s not raining)
Turner Field
~~Sweetwater Creek State Park~~ 19-May-2011
Marietta Square
The Varsity
Sun Dial
Decatur Square

Next Update: http://sonria.org/blog/2011/day-232-january-1-2011

Wordless Wednesday: Ephemeral

Catherine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:45:51 +0000

The final project for my Digital Photography I class was to use the basic technical skills we had learned to create a series of shots based on the theme, “dreams.”

I’m an unusually concrete thinker so an abstract theme isn’t easy for me. By the Sunday afternoon prior to the Tuesday class, I was getting a little desperate for ideas. Knowing that graffiti is sometimes psychedelic, I drove down to Atlanta’s Little Five Points and then caught DeKalb Avenue toward the Krog Street Bridge.

I didn’t see this mural on the side of Studio 900 until it was too late to drive past it. After taking a couple pictures on the other side of the Krog Street Bridge, I went back up DeKalb avenue and took pictures of the mural.

In the end, I chose to use a five-shot series of the face in the middle for my project. It was successful: the class agreed I’d done a good interpretation (and they were surprised when I proudly told them that the pictures are not in black-and-white).

This mural was put up in connection with the Living Walls project which had a conference in Atlanta beginning August 13; it was during this conference that an artist known as Gaia put the mural up. I took the pictures August 15. By August 18 — the day after my class — the mural had been tagged.

Apparently the wall was “claimed” in the graffiti community but, due to a buffing, the artists associated with Living Walls didn’t realize it when they put up the mural. In the spirit of the street art community, though, they have chosen to let the tags remain. I understand and agree with the decision, but I do wish that Vomet (the wall’s “owner”) had at least had the decency to cover up Gaia’s art with something just as beautiful.

The bottom line, though, was that the mural was up for probably no more than three or four days. So the mural itself was far more ephemeral than I’d realized. It really was a dream that came true for only a few days…and I was just lucky enough to capture it during that time.

Writer’s Block: No place like home

Catherine — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:45:02 +0000

Writer’s Block from July 14, 2010:

What are five things you love about where you live and five things that you hate? How does it compare to previous places you’ve lived?

What are five things you love about where you live?

I’m pretty open about the fact that I don’t particularly care for Atlanta. But I’ve been here for four years now, and it’s grown on me a bit. It will never be “home,” though.

It’s only two hours from the mountains and three hours from the coast.
There are a lot of things to see and do, especially if you have enough money.
It has multiple and beautiful skylines.
There’s a strong sense of history, and plenty of places to explore that.
It’s a major enough city to attract top-level performers, politicians and similar.

What are five things you hate about where you live?

A friend of mine and I recently agreed that Atlanta can accurately be described as a bunch of small towns that happen to be in the same location.

It’s very socially stratified. Everyone “keeps to their own kind.”
It’s either hot or cold. There’s not much in the way of spring or fall.
The area suffers from car addiction. There’s no decent public transit or walker-friendly areas.
There’s very little in the way of free entertainment or community education.
It’s not particularly conducive to unique, owner-operated shops and eateries. Big boxes and national chains are the rule.

How does it compare to previous places you’ve lived?

I’ve lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle; the longest I’ve ever lived at a single address is seven years. In addition, when I moved away from the area where I grew up, I never missed it. So when I moved here, I figured that it was simply the next stepping-stone of a life that would be lived in many different places before it was over.

I was pretty surprised, then, when I found myself homesick for Raleigh after about three or four months. I still miss it. I can’t quite explain it but that has become home and I know now that I will be going back; I just don’t know the details. I miss it more every time I visit and then leave.

Atlanta’s a place to live and there are definitely worse. But Raleigh is home. I understand how things work and know where to find what I want. It’s just city-like enough to be vibrant and just small-town enough to be universally friendly. That’s what I prefer, and that’s why I’ve never gotten emotionally tied to Atlanta.

Photo: Skyline at Sunrise, uploaded by airnos

A Bit of a False Alarm

Catherine — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:30:48 +0000

In a recent AJC Column, blogger Bob Barr expresses concern about the recent Brogdon v. State ruling in Georgia, which declared that medical records maintained at a hospital are not “private papers” under the law.

Of course, a properly executed search warrant may always be used to reach any items, including medical records, that constitute “instrumentalities of a crime,” but this recent court decision opens the door to law enforcement gaining access to personal medical records that are not themselves evidence of crimes [...]¹

When I first read the column, I was pretty alarmed, especially in light of recent legislation putting certain mental illness diagnoses on Georgia driver’s licenses. Georgia’s not a particularly friendly state when it comes to medical privacy, and it seemed this court decision was simply one more assault against those with diagnoses that could reflect a person in a negative light.

But a look at the actual decision causes me to wonder if there’s as much cause for alarm as Mr. Barr seems to think. A look at the actual facts of the case suggest that the medical records in question were, at the very least, pertinent; and it reveals a gray area with respect to whether the records were evidence of criminal activity.

Appellant was involved in a vehicular collision [and] the responding police officer arrived at the scene in time to smell alcohol [...] notice appellant’s belligerent behavior, and to find evidence of alcohol consumption in [the] appellant’s truck. [...] The officer did not ask appellant to submit to a blood-alcohol test, and [...] was unable to continue his investigation at the hospital to which appellant was taken because appellant was receiving medical treatment. Five months later, the Gwinnett solicitor general’s office obtained and served upon the hospital a search warrant for Brogdon’s medical records for the date on which Brogdon had been treated at the hospital following the vehicular collision. The hospital provided the records [...]²

It appears that Gwinnett County only asked for records that were created on the date Brogdon was treated for a suspected alcohol-related car crash. That’s a pretty narrow limitation and one that seems relevant to this non-legally-trained blogger³. As such, I have a hard time believing that the records aren’t “evidence,” although an argument could be made for hearsay.

It’s also significant to note here that HIPAA privacy rules do not protect medical records that are subpoenaed by the courts⁴. HIPAA doesn’t speak to the courts’ authority to subpoena.

While it’s true that this court ruling struck down an argued privacy protection, I don’t think this one is opening up the floodgates when it comes to medical records. The fact that the court’s ruling was based on the location of the medical records (at the hospital) doesn’t affect questions about their relevance and thus whether they constitute information of interest to the court.

I absolutely think medical privacy is becoming an important issue. But concern about this legislation is a bit of a false alarm. There are other legal issues that carry a far greater threat.

Georgia Court: Personal medical records are fair game for government snooping
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=ingaco20100712138. I’ve edited this for length but all of my omissions had to do with irrelevant details and “wordy” phrasing.
That we’re talking about an issue related to public safety — drunken driving — also seems relevant to me. In this case there do seem to be issues related to the common good.
HIPAA FAQ

Not Quite Discrimination, But…

Catherine — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:30:47 +0000

This past week, Gwinnett Medical Center here in Georgia announced that they they will no longer hire smokers. This doesn’t mean banning smoking on hospital grounds. They’re refusing to even hire anyone who smokes (or, presumably, uses tobacco in a different form).

Legally, this isn’t quite discrimination. Smoking isn’t a disability, so the ADA doesn’t apply. Smoking also isn’t a protected class in Georgia, so the Civil Rights Act doesn’t apply. Since Georgia is also a right-to-work state, an employer is free to choose not to hire someone as long as the choice isn’t based in legally discriminatory criteria.

So I suspect this policy would survive a discrimination challenge, even if not smoking isn’t a bona fide occupational qualification. I still question whether it’s a good idea, though.

Let’s make it clear: I’m personally disgusted by tobacco usage and I absolutely believe that it’s a health hazard. But so are a lot of other things: a high-cholesterol diet, over-usage of alcohol, lack of regular physical activity, and so on.

If employers can legally discriminate based on one unhealthy activity, who’s to say they can’t start discriminating on other activities they deem unhealthy? The Centers for Disease Control have identified many health-related causes of lost productivity, so a loss-of-productivity argument doesn’t work. In fact, I can’t think of a single argument that smoking is uniquely different than other unhealthy habits. It’s only more visible.

Gwinnett Medical Center has every right to prohibit smoking on the grounds; that’s rooted in property rights. But prohibit smoking when employees aren’t on the clock? That opens the door toward a considerable level of interference in employees’ personal lives.

Regardless of whether it’s legal, that’s never a good idea.

Sins of the Fathers

Catherine — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:30:31 +0000

Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion of Arizona Senate Bill 1070. There’s another case that, while covered nationally, hasn’t gotten the same amount of attention, except locally here in the Atlanta Metro.

Her name is Jessica Colotl. She’s a rising senior at Kennesaw State University with good grades. She’s also in the United States without proper documentation: an illegal immigrant.

There has been a lot of back-and-forth and argument on both side, and it has been growing shriller by the moment. Jessica herself hopes to obtain permanent residency.¹

In all the arguments, though, I’ve seen only passing reference to one fact that seems to be pivotal: Jessica was a minor when her parents brought her to the United States. She didn’t make the choice to cross the border without proper authorization. They did.

In the United States, nobody would argue if parents took their minor children with them when they emigrated. Parents are allowed to make such decisions on behalf of their children. In fact, they’re expected to be the decision-makers.

It’s reasonable to apply that moral value in the reverse direction, and it’s reasonable to think that Jessica’s parents were acting appropriately when they decided to bring her with them and continue raising her themselves. Most parents would have.

Some would argue that this means Jessica should have moved back to Mexico when she turned 18. Why? She grew up here and this is her home. That’d be akin to expecting me to move back to the Midwest just because I was born there. I grew up in the South and it’s my home.

I don’t have a problem with deporting illegal immigrants who entered as adults and who are later convicted of a crime or who otherwise don’t contribute to society.² But I don’t see why Jessica Colotl should be penalized for a decision that her parents made for her.

Illegal immigrant KSU student hopes to stay in U.S. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
I do disagree with deporting illegal immigrants who don’t commit crimes and contribute to society. But that’s a separate topic.